The household of Suchir Balaji state he was murdered and didn't eliminate himself. Now they've taken legal action against San Francisco and its police department.

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The moms and dads of deceased OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji have actually taken legal action against the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department, alleging that the genuine cause of his death was not suicide, but murder.

The claim, submitted in January, declares that the SFPD covered up the criminal activity, ruling it a suicide without conducting an extensive investigation.

Balaji, who had worked as a researcher at OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment last November. Attorneys state Balaji's parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, asked for setiathome.berkeley.edu further investigation into his death however were told the case was already closed.

"The claim requires that the city, cops department, and medical inspector release public documents kept under the general public Records Act," Joseph Goethals, attorney for the petitioners, told Decrypt. He said that if the documents weren't offered within 10 days, and "no valid exceptions use, a claim can compel their release. We will look for a court order to obtain them."

The claim claims that SFPD violated the California Public Records Act by unlawfully keeping public records of the case. Attorneys for Ramarao and Ramamurthy likewise argued that the examination into their kid's death was rushed and inadequate, with authorities overlooking crucial forensic findings and failing to resolve their requests for further query.

The claim requires the instant disclosure of all reports, photos, and videos, along with coverage of legal expenses.

Said Geothals: "If the San Francisco Superior Court does not interpret and enforce the law correctly, we will seek recourse with the Court of Appeal. We hope it doesn't pertain to that."

Balaji worked for OpenAI from November 2020 to August 2024. In an interview with The New york city Times in October, he said that before the general public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, he had actually assisted OpenAI gather and use "enormous quantities" of information drawn from the internet without authorization.

According to the claim, in December, Balaji's family hired forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen to perform a personal autopsy. In his report, Dr. Cohen identified that there was a single gunshot injury in the mid-forehead, somewhat to the right of the bridge of his nose.

Dr. Cohen said that the bullet trajectory was uncommon for a suicide, as it took a trip downward at a small left-to-right angle, completely missing out on the brain before lodging in the brainstem, according to the suit. Dr. Cohen determined a contusion on the back of Balaji's head, which he said raised further concerns about the of his death.

The San Francisco Police Department did not right away respond to a demand for remark by Decrypt.

The claim called out the circumstances of Bilaji's death. His body was discovered a week after The New york city Times pointed out the whistleblower in a court filing related to its claim against OpenAI.

Despite Balaji's revelations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pressed back on the New york city Times' claims. Speaking at the paper's yearly DealBook Summit, Altman dismissed the claims.